Three properties in Bournemouth, Dorset, were also searched by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of the investigation. Computers and phones were also taken away for examination.

NCA operations manager Siobhan Micklethwaite said: “This is a major seizure of cocaine, one of the largest flown into the UK by plane in many years, and this seizure by Border Force represents a major blow to organised crime.

“We estimate that once cut and sold on the streets in the UK it would have had a potential value in excess of £50 million.”

The aircraft crew were questioned before being released without charge.

Border Force officers found around 500kg of the Class A drug in one of the largest recent seizures of its kind